


Palliation

by ellerkay



Series: Sympathetic Response [3]
Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-06
Updated: 2015-09-06
Packaged: 2018-04-19 10:35:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 399
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4743140
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ellerkay/pseuds/ellerkay
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Drabble in an AU series where Will Graham is a mutant with extraordinary empathy and visions. This story explores Will's feeling of connection to Hannibal, and why Hannibal had so much appeal for him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Palliation

**Author's Note:**

> Set in season two. The Will/Hannibal ship aspect is somewhat questionable, but not much more questionable than it is on the show itself, so.

The thing about Dr. Lecter was the quiet.  
  
He was soft-spoken, with even tones, and except for a few early instances of unwanted analysis, he usually seemed to know when not to speak. And his words were always carefully chosen and fascinating.  
  
But that wasn’t it. It was the _quiet_.  
  
With his shields up, Will received no emotional information from Dr. Lecter. Even with them down, and trying, he felt little more than curiosity.  
  
In retrospect, it probably should have been a giant red flag. Later, Will would wonder if Hannibal was some kind of mutant himself, perhaps one with powers of persuasion. Not too strong, but strong enough to make him a profound danger, coupled with his nearly amoral personality. Or perhaps he possessed some sort of psychological camouflage, giving him the ability to hide in plain sight.  
  
It should have been a sign, and a very bad one. But at the time, Will only felt a sense of deep relief. Here was someone he could talk to, without the constant onslaught of emotion, without the visions, without the tension he held as he tried to block it all out. He could relax.  
  
(The visions weren’t really gone, of course. They were still warning him in his dreams. But it took a long time before he connected the stag to Hannibal. Camouflage.)  
  
There was a certain attraction, but Will wasn’t sure, even later, if it was genuine. Was it real? Was it born out of the reprieve from his ability that still allowed for human interaction? Was it a mirror of Hannibal’s attraction to him – if such a thing existed – felt on a cellular level and relayed back to his brain and body in the form of his own emotion? Was it the fact that Dr. Lecter _was_ an enigma to him, when so few people were, and he often wished they were?  
  
In any case, it was manageable, if all the more humiliating and painful once he finally figured out the truth. A fantasy here and there. At the time, Will wasn’t sure he even would have wanted more. He didn’t want to lose Hannibal’s friendship.  
  
Later, the thought would make him laugh bitterly. He knew, though, that Hannibal had been as sincere in their friendship as he had. He knew everything. Lecter couldn’t hide from him anymore.  
  
Will wished he could go back to the quiet.


End file.
